Wrestle Offs to look forward to: Who will be the starter

I'll start off by saying this.  I'm not an insider.  I have no inside information.   I simply take information available to me and deduce it to the best of my ability.  Last year's or prior year's results mixed with current rosters. These are assumptions and guesses, nothing here is verbatim.  This is based on what weight class I think wrestlers will go.  Maybe they'll go up a weight class, maybe they'll go down.   Nevertheless the potential for these matches to happen is there. 

I have twelve matches selected that I believe should prove to be very exciting in the hunt for a starting position.

NORTHERN IOWA
125 lbs 

In my opinion the most exciting match in Cedar Falls for the starting position on Doug Schwab's Panther team will be at 125 lbs between senior Jay Schwarm and freshman Kyle Biscoglia. We're looking at a two time NCAA qualifier taking on a redshirt freshman that placed seventh at last year's Midlands.  The experience of a well seasoned veteran verses the hunger of a nothing to lose rookie.

ARMY
133 lbs 

Marino pinned Peters last year in under a minute at the Black Knight invitational but I don't see that happening again. I wouldn't call the win a fluke, but I will call the pin a fluke.  I suppose I could say more about this but I was informed about a minute ago that Marino isn't even on the roster anymore.  Leaving this up here though, cause I'm curious as to what happened to him. I'm sure someone will read this and inform me.

NORTH CAROLINA
141 lbs 

I'm rather excited about this potential matchup in the Tarheel wrestling room.  Sherman has looked rather good at 133 lbs, including a very impressive third place finish at last season's Midlands.  Anxious to see if he can be as effective at 141 lbs. It's a rather big jump.  Eight pounds of muscle and 141 lbs'ers are usually taller than those at 133. He'll be tested right out of the gate against Headlee.

NORTHWESTERN
141 lbs 

These guys at least on paper are nearly identical.  Oster's been to the NCAA tournament whereas Thomas has not, but Thomas has also had exceptionally good showings at the Midlands placing 7th & 3rd the past two seasons. Overall I say that the two split time as the starter this season and who does better against the competition, not who wins in the room will be the deciding factor at who starts at the BIG 10 tournament.

CAMPBELL
157 lbs 

It wasn't that long ago when the camels couldn't even fill a starting lineup. Now they have two of the best Southern Conference 157 lbs'ers fighting for the starting spot.  A SOCON champ Vs a SOCON runner-up. It could prove to be the toughest in-conference competition for either one of them.

OHIO
157 lbs 

Last season Carson defeated Vestal 8-4 and I think a similar outcome is in order for this season.  I include the match for the fact that Vestal is a rather tough wrestler and could upset Carson.

IOWA
157 lbs 

Young is going to win this match, I'm almost certain of it.  If I were a gambler, I'd put money on it. I include it because there are probably 70 other schools that Glosser could have gone to and if he had, he'd be a three time, going on four time NCAA qualifier at this point.  In my opinion, when he graduates this season, he'll be the best wrestler in the class of 2020 to have never been the official starter for his team.  It's weird to think of how he'll never start at a BIG 10 championship, yet he could've potentially won other conferences.

PENN STATE
157 lbs 

I'm not sold on anything here yet.  I think both of these guys are phenomenal wrestlers and either will end up doing great things for the Nittany lions this season.  PSU is in good shape here regardless of who starts.

OKLAHOMA STATE
157 lbs 

The winner of this match might not necessarily be the starter for the Cowboys.  It wouldn't be the first time in John Smith's long and illustrious career that he started the loser of a wrestle-off over the winner.  Smith doesn't tolerate inconsistency.  When he expects you to win, you better.  Which is what makes this such an interesting scenario.  Shomers has an NCAA qualification and wins over NCAA qualifiers Gordon Wolf of Lehigh and Justin Thomas of Oklahoma. Yet Sheets defeated Pittsburgh's Taleb Rahmani and EIWA champ Josh Humphreys of Lehigh.  Flip coin guys, flip a coin.

NORTH CAROLINA
165 lbs 

Heard a bit of talk about Monday's chance at winning the ACC and making All American a few different times in the past couple of months.   As far as I'm concerned, before worrying about an ACC title & being one of the top eight at the end of the year, he better concern himself with beating out McClure for the varsity spot. He beat him in 2017 6-0, but a lot can change in three years.  He'll be anything but a pushover.

IOWA
174 lbs 

When I look over what I believe could very well be the 2020 NCAA Team Champion's roster, I wonder to myself, "Where is everyone going to go?"  The Hawkeyes have what could be, the best team in Tom Brands tenure thus far as head coach.  They have one Hell of a roster and they don't have room for everybody.  If the Brands are like the Smiths, they're going to do everything in their power to get Nelson into the lineup.  Maybe it won't even be at 174, yet even at 165 and 184, his competition is just as stiff.  This will be interesting.

RUTGERS
174 

I think Vs competition Grello is the better wrestler, but I think Vs one another Scott is the better wrestler.  It's weird how that is sometimes the case in amateur wrestling.  I'd like to see both of these guys in the starting lineup for the Scarlet Knights but I don't see either making 165 lbs and both seem too small for 184.  So shoot, one of them looks like they won't be varsity. 


Are their more wrestle-offs to look forward to?  I wouldn't doubt it.  These are the ones that stuck out to me though.  I'm excited!